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Andrew Wyeth’s Studio

Last week I fulfilled a long held dream and made a trek to Chadd’s Ford, Pennsylvania to visit the home of one of first artistic heroes, Andrew Wyeth.  The trip exceeded expectations on numerous levels.  I’ll let my photos do most of the talking.  First up.  Andrew Wyeth studio.  Great timing, as the conservators have only just started allowing photos.  In his life time, Andrew allowed very few visitors into his inner sanctum.

Ecstacy

From my cousin:
The Ecstasy of St. Theresa, my latest Rick Taylor acquisition. I finally finished restoring the frame and hung her in the family room.
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I just flashed forty years back to the art history office in Humber college when I found this great slide (remember slides?) and asked if I could borrow it to turn into a painting.  So nice to know a painting can find fresh life and give pleasure four decades down the timeline.  Thank you, Pat.

Buckingham’s

“Eye Candy” exhibition, Buckingham Fine Art Gallery, Uxbridge featuring the work of our good friends Robert Amirault, Shelly Burke and John Stuart Pryce.

Comic Books

I drew comic books for 30 years. For a long time I taught elementary school all day and then came home to draw comics until midnight and most weekends. I used the moniker “R.G. Taylor” because there already was a well know colourist in the industry called Rick Taylor.

An Oldie Reborn

For as long as I can recall, my cousin Pat has been an avid supporter of my artwork.  This art school “oldie,” resurrected from my storage locker, hung in my parents’ home for many years. When Pat expressed her fondness for the piece I promptly drove it to her home in Georgetown.  To my delight she quickly cleaned off 40 years worth of dust and repaired and repainted my homemade frame.  Back in the day I made my own, admittedly lousy frames and build and stretched my own canvases.

Commission

As a rule, commissions make me very anxious and I try to avoid them.  This one, however, provided some intriguing challenges. It is also a gift for the client’s father and I have a soft spot for great dads, given how much mine meant to me.

  I had to take a scene I had already painted and make it look like it was now set in the seventies or early eighties.  This entailed removing a number of tall buildings, researching the pre renovation A.G.O., and getting a handle on the vintage vehicles. Fortunately this model of Red Rocket had come into operation around this time, but is currently being phased out. It also occurred to me television antennae would be common.

Anyhow, a long haul, but hopefully the collector will appreciate the effort.

A Thought

My good friend, the great artist Sam Paonessa sent me this kind of funny candid photo from our painting expedition in Bon Echo Park.  I was in the company of some amazing plein air oil painters including Karen Fox, Harvey Walker, John Stuart Pryce, Shelly Burke and Frank A. Edwards. There was absolutely no sense of competition, but I wanted to produce something strong.  Instead, I painted two real stinkers, which I’ve just finished painting over here in the studio.

Nonetheless, this is my thank you note to Sam:

Thanks for the info and the great photo. I look like I’m painting while listening to classical music.
Proves that even when you’re struggling, as I was that day, painting takes you to a strange, joyful and even spiritual place.

Interestingly, today’s Robert Genn letter is most relevant and points directly to why I failed in Bon Echo.

To what degree do we pay attention to our progress and to what degree do we just let it flow? My observation has been that there are times to give it thought and other times when thought may be dangerous. Most of us have noticed how too much thinking can lead to poor or contrived work. Many of my outright failures have occurred when I wanted so badly to succeed, brought every brain cell to bear and fell down miserably. It makes you realize that something other than the cerebral cortex is necessary. Consider the centipede. If this lowly being paused for only a moment to determine which foot to move forward next, it would undoubtedly stumble. The centipede has rhythm and flow in its hundred legs precisely because it does not have to think about it. Consider this the next time you move the instruments of your art. At what point in the act of art does a natural power or a mysterious intuition seem to guide and generate excellence?
Among the artists I know, admire and compete with, I’ve noticed the following: They understand the basics. They train themselves. They perfect the details and trivialities of what they do. They master their stances and their strategies. Then they put their heads down, close out the crowd and let it flow.
Balancing your calculating brain and your intuitive flow is an easy dream and a difficult task. I think it’s one of the true miracles.
PS: “No artist is pleased. There is only a queer divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others.” (Martha Graham)
Esoterica: “We need to be willing to let our intuition guide us, and then be willing to follow that guidance directly and fearlessly.” “Every time you don’t follow your inner guidance, you feel a loss of energy, loss of power, a sense of spiritual deadness. (Shakti Gawain) Developing Intuition by Shakti Gawain is a convenient workbook for people who want to increase their intuitive ability. Gawain outlines methods of accessing the power, how to act on whatever surfaces and suggests exercises for accurately discovering your passions.

This letter was originally published as “The Intuitive Flow” on February 11th, 2000.
 

A Great Gift

The latest addition to my personal collection is a lovely little plein air oil by my friend, the immensely talent Karen Fox.

More Oldies

A few more oldies from my storage unit, including a couple of big ones from my Humber College years. 
I hope collectors eventually find their way back to watercolours.  I love that medium.
The young teen with the worried expression is my brother Peter, or as he is now more commonly known, “Grandpa.”

Blasts From the Past

After years of procrastinating, I started cleaning out my increasingly costly storage unit. 80% of the paintings were real duds and are now deservedly in the landfill site.  However, some of them spoke to me and are destined for my crowded basement.  A few of these pieces are almost 40 years old.

Artworld Uncorked

Last night it was my night to perform at this exciting monthly even.  Fifty bucks covers a nice glass of vino, art materials, and a great evening of fellowship, and in the case of last night, a great deal of laughter.
Next up, from La Belle Province, Stefan Horik followed by one of my personal favourite artists, the greatly esteemed Norman Brown.
See www.artworldfineart.com for details and go to my blog for many more photos of the evening.

Small Works

This month a new exhibition of my small works is featured in Artworld Fine Art.
These pictures are a great entry point for the novice collector. Additionally, Artworld has become one of the finest framing operations in the city, if not the finest.

GO

Some terrific news from GO Transit:
 We’ve printed 500 copies of your painting at 8.5×14 with a full black frame which we are selling to staff for United Way, and we made several larger prints which will be framed and hung permanently in each of our facilities. 
The painting is now destined for our GO Transit museum.